Ink in the Clink lawyer: Some of lawsuit's claims 'absolutely were not true'

Vendors and artists during the Ink in the Clink Tattoo and Music Festival on Friday at the Ohio State Reformatory. The festival runs throughout the weekend.(Photo11: Mitchell Pe Masilun/News Journal)Buy Photo

MANSFIELD — The lawyer representing the organizers for tattoo and music festival Ink in the Clink says several claims made in a Medina County lawsuit alleging they owe a Medina man millions of dollars are untrue.

"There were some things that were alleged, some key things that were alleged in the complaint... that just absolutely were not true," said Nolan James of Cleveland-based law firm Cavitch Familo and Durkin.

On Thursday, Ink in the Clink organizer Rick Fields referred further questions to James.

The suit, filed in Medina County Common Pleas Court on Oct. 26, 2017, alleges Rickey and Susan Fields, with a last known address on North Lexington-Springmill Road in Ontario, owe Michael Kaminsky of Medina millions of dollars. Kaminsky claims he loaned them money for the festival and was promised part of the festival proceeds through an oral contract.

Whiskey Warehouse, 1400 W. Fourth St., Mansfield, also is named as a defendant in the case.

James, whom the Fields retained Wednesday, said they don't dispute the Fields owe Kaminsky some money.

James said Kaminsky did loan them $125,000, which Kaminsky paid to United Talent Agency to reserve musical acts.

James also said Kaminsky loaned the Fields roughly $30,000 for repair work and miscellaneous operational costs at Whiskey Warehouse.

Neither the $125,000 nor $30,000 loans from Kaminsky were repaid, James said.

"They don't dispute those two numbers that, 'Hey, he loaned this money to us, we owe him this money, but we haven't even had the opportunity to talk to him about paying that money back because he wants a couple million dollars, and we don't have a couple million dollars,'" James said of the Fields.

But James said there was no oral contract stating Kaminsky would receive half of the net profit from the festival.

And James claimed the net profit from the 2017 festival was not $3.8 million, as stated in the Medina County suit. He said the figure was less than $200,000.

James claimed there were a little more than 7,600 tickets sold for the 2017 festival, significantly fewer than the 48,000 tickets stated in the Medina County suit.

"That changes the revenue calculus significantly," James said.

That figure comes out to roughly $450,000 in ticket sale proceeds, not the $2.6 million stated in the Medina County lawsuit, James claimed.

"They don't deny that they owe him that money, but they were not, they were certainly not partners in this thing," Jame said. "They certainly didn't make millions and millions of dollars in ticket sales for this event."

James said a claim in the Medina County suit alleging advertising revenue around $850,000 received from Monster Energy and Budweiser is untrue.

James said although Monster Energy was present at the 2017 festival, there was no sponsorship money received from Monster Energy or Budweiser, as Monster Energy was given a free booth at the event.

"It was just intended to be, you know, something to help enhance the overall experience of people going," James said.

James also said an allegation that Rick Fields served five years on a felony charge on South Carolina is not true.

James said Rick Fields served five years in prison in Ohio on a felony burglary charge when he was 18 after taking a pocket watch belonging to his sister.

But in the three decades since, James said Rick Fields "has not had any trouble with the law since then."

James also claimed an allegation that Kaminsky was promised Gene Simmons or KISS would perform at Ink in the Clink was not true.

The Fields apparently looked into having Gene Simmons appear at Whiskey Warehouse, but James said a high appearance fee of hundreds of thousands of dollars ended that consideration.

James also said that as of Thursday, "there is going to be no Ink in the Clink event."

Ink in the Clink will not take place at the Richland County Fairgrounds this year, fairgrounds officials confirmed Thursday.

Richland County Agricultural Society President Jason Snyder said in a Facebook post Thursday the society's executive board voted to terminate the lease agreement between the fairgrounds and Ink in the Clink.

The festival was held at the Ohio State Reformatory the last three years, but OSR officials chose not to renew the contract with Ink in the Clink for this year.

OSR plans to host a new tattoo and music festival, INKcarceration, on July 13-15.

Ink in the Clink has shut down ticket sales and will begin the refund process, according to a post on the festival's Facebook page.

Attorney Timothy Weyls of Weyls Peters and Chuparkoff, an Independence-based law firm, filed the Medina County suit, which states the Fields were tenants in a building owned by an affiliate of Kaminsky since around 2009 in Wadsworth and until recently operated a business there.

Rick Fields told Kaminsky they needed financial assistance for the 2017 Ink in the Clink, according to the suit, and Kaminsky entered into an oral contract with the Fields and had a partnership for the event around September 2016, with Kaminsky allegedly making numerous advance payments to the partnership from September 2016 through March 2017.

The suit alleges Fields told Kaminsky he would be repaid any money he paid in advance to the partnership, and he would also receive one-half of the net profits from the festival, which took place July 14-16 at the Ohio State Reformatory.

Rick Fields told Kaminsky the net profit from the festival was around $3.8 million, according to the suit, which he said was in the account for the event.

Kaminsky later learned the funds believed to have been advanced only for the event were paid to accounts for the Fields and Whiskey Warehouse, according to the suit.

According to the suit, Rick and Susan Fields have stopped paying employees and vendors for Whiskey Warehouse, which appears to be closed.

Kaminsky, who according to the suit has not been repaid, is seeking in damages the $180,250 he loaned to the Fields; one-half of the net profits from the 2017 Ink in the Clink festival, believed to be around $1,809,875; and $12,537.36 he paid to unfreeze the event account because of tax liens, plus interest, attorney's fees and other costs.

Kaminsky is also seeking other damages and wants to review the event's financial records and documents.

Kaminsky's motion for default judgment is scheduled for a non-oral hearing at 8 a.m. Feb. 12. No appearance is necessary, according to court records.

James said he and his firm will be taking legal action "within the next week" in reference to the civil suit.

"We've got a lot of work to do, and it's very early in the process, but we feel fairly confident in our ability to rectify the situation," James said. "The big issue is just the what's going on with the goodwill of the Ink in the Clink event and the goodwill that the Fields once had in the community."

James is also representing the Fields in a second civil suit filed in Medina County Common Pleas Court on Oct. 26, 2017, alleging Rickey and Susan Fields, who operate New Ink Tattoos at 232 High St. in Wadsworth, did not pay rent on the property for 18 months, totaling $9,000, or pay their utilities, totaling $4,162.38.

In that case, Wadsworth Properties South is seeking damages in excess of $25,000, plus interest, attorney's fees and other costs.